I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to personnel restraint seat belts and, more particularly, to such a seat belt which enables rapid identification of the belt during emergency situations.
II. Description of Relevant Art
Essentially all military and non-military vehicles include personnel safety restraint seat belts for securing the personnel to the vehicle during the operation of the vehicle. During normal operation of the vehicle, the release of the seat belts can be easily accomplished by the military personnel.
Military and non-military vehicles, as well as the personnel within those vehicles, however, are oftentimes subjected to emergency situations. For example, an improvised explosive device (IED), bomb blast, rollover, explosion, accident, gas leak and so forth may not only damage or even render inoperable the vehicle, but may also temporarily incapacitate the occupants of the vehicle. When such an event occurs the occupants are subjected to violent physical effects which can severely alter their cognitive reasoning capabilities, this coupled with chaotic life threatening situations, stress and confusion makes it even more difficult for soldiers to perform emergency egress and survival procedures. This invention helps to reduce this problem by making the restraint belts easier to locate, see, identify, and grasp for expedient cutting and hence the saving of lives under these intense and chaotic emergency egress conditions.
Furthermore, during such an event, the vehicle safety belts may become locked and intermingled or entwined with other straps either present within the vehicle or used to secure or otherwise carry gear and other equipment in the vehicle. When this happens it may be difficult to identify the seat belt. In addition to the restraint belts being intermingled or entwined with other straps, there is also a danger that the shoulder belts will be caught in a “Gear Valley” on the soldier. Soldiers wear great amounts of gear and equipment known as Body Borne Equipment (BBE) on their chests (ammo pouches, Improved First Aid Kit (IFAK), flashlights, radios, grenade pouches, etc.). Such BBE can entrap, hide, and obscure the shoulder belts, for example, if a safety belt becomes wedged in between two ammo pouches the safety belt will be difficult to see or locate. The gap between two pieces of equipment, such as two ammo pouches, is referred to as a “Gear Valley”. In addition to other belts and straps intermingling with the restraint belts present in the vehicle, the restraint belts may become difficult to see, locate, and identify even on the soldier's chest because of the “Gear Valley” effect and comingling with the multitude of chest mounted gear. In addition to the problem of the Gear Valley, soldiers also at times will wear gas masks. When wearing a gas mask a soldier's close-in vision is degraded, especially around his own chest and body—so the addition of tactile and visual indicators to the belts is a huge advantage for them—especially when helping others who may not be able to see their own belts.
In these situations it is oftentimes necessary for the vehicle personnel to release themselves from the vehicle seat belts and escape from the vehicle. For example, if the vehicle is in water or on fire, serious injury or death can result unless the vehicle occupants quickly escape from the vehicle.
However, in such emergency situations, a rapid escape from the vehicle by unlatching the seat belt may not be practical or possible if the release buckle is jammed or inoperable. For example, if the vehicle occupant is blinded by smoke, debris, eye damage, total darkness or the like, he or she may not be able to quickly identify the restraint seat belt to cut the seat belt apart with a knife. This is particularly true where the restraint seat belt is intertwined with other belts present within the vehicle or in a Gear Valley which results in excessive search and fumble time in order to find the proper seat belt to cut and free the personnel from the vehicle.
The proper identification of the seat belt by the vehicle occupants during an emergency situation is particularly serious for vehicle occupants that have been injured or rendered unconscious so that it is impossible for the occupants to extricate themselves from the vehicle. In these situations, rescuers must be able to rapidly enter the vehicle and identify and cut the personnel restraint seat belts in order to free the occupants. As such, these rescuers face the same difficulties in the proper identification of the restraint seat belt during the rescue operation.